GREENSBORO, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team opened the 2013-14 season with a 82-74 loss to UNC Greensboro on Friday at the Greensboro Coliseum. Graduate student Allan Chaney posted 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead four High Pont scorers in double figures.
“It was a high level game, it was a great environment and we just didn’t do the things we needed to do to win the game,” said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. “We were dealing with foul trouble the whole game. Of course I don’t like to lose but it’s one game. We need to get back to practice and get ready for the next one. There are a lot of little things we could do better.”
Chaney’s double-double led the Panthers and redshirt-sophomore John Brown was just off, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds in just 22 minutes due to foul trouble. Senior Dejuan McGaughy and sophomore Adam Weary both scored 13 points, with Weary getting all of his in the second half. The Panthers shot 43 percent from the field but just 1-of-9 from three-point range.
UNCG had two 21-point scorers in sophomore Kayel Locke and redshirt-junior Kyle Cain, a transfer from Arizona State. Locke added a team-high nine rebounds. Freshman Tyrone Outlaw scored 14 points with nine rebounds and freshman Tevon Saddler scored 10 points.
UNC Greensboro seized control of the game from the tip, opening up a quick 15-8 lead five minutes in to the contest. Chaney cut the lead to three (15-12) with 11 minutes on the clock. He grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on the put back. The Spartans took their biggest lead of the first half, 25-15, on a Cain layup with six and a half minutes left.
Chaney scored back-to-back baskets to cut UNC Greensboro’s lead to 32-27 with just under three minutes to play. He sparked a 13-8 HPU run to finish the half. Freshman Anthony Lindauer fed the ball in to Brown who was fouled by RJ White. Brown went to the line and made both free throws to make it a 33-29 UNCG lead. McGaughy scored the final three points of the half and HPU trailed 33-32 heading in to the locker room.
After Locke converted a three-point play to open the second half, the Panthers went on a 9-4 run culminating with a three-point play by McGaughy, which gave High Point its only lead of the game, 41-40 with 16:18 left. The Spartans answered with the next four points and led the rest of the way.
The game was still within two points (57-55) when Brown hit a jumper with 9:35 remaining and pulled within four (64-60) when Weary hit a free throw with 5:56 remaining in the game. Cain hit a jumper and Nicholas Paulos hit a three to make it a nine-point lead and the best HPU could get was within six in the final five minutes.
The Spartans shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the floor and hit 16 free throws in the second half.
It was the first time in five years that High Point opened the season with a loss. HPU was voted No. 1 in the North Division of the Big South Preseason Poll.
The Panthers have their regular-season home opener on Tuesday when they host Ferrum for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Millis Center. HPU is 3-0 all-time against Ferrum and won the last meeting, 90-57, to open the 2010-11 season.